Saturday, March 22, 2008

Everything I need to know, I learned from Anne of Green Gables

Last night, I went to bed feeling defeated and sorry for myself after having cheated. The scale reflected what I did to myself yesterday, and I wasn't at all surprised.

One of my favorite movies growing up was Anne of Green Gables. Yes, of course I know it's a series of books, but for me, this is probably the only case I've encountered where I enjoyed the movie more. In one of the many ridiculous situations Anne gets herself into, she invites her best friend, Diana, over for tea while her foster parents are away. She accidentally serves Diana currant wine instead of the raspberry cordial which was left out for her. Anne's friend gets really drunk and stumbles home, then throws up in the bushes while her entire family watches in horror.

Get to the point, you say? Okay, okay, I'm getting there. Diana's parents are so enraged that they forbid her from seeing Anne. Anne is devastated and confides in her teacher, Miss Stacy. Miss Stacy says Diana's parents will come around, and everything will start fresh tomorrow. "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it," says Anne.

Oh my. That was a really long story to get to my point, which is that tomorrow is a clean slate. After seeing the number on the scale this morning, I decided not to pout about it. There was nothing I could do to erase yesterday. So, I was determined to make today a good one.

Yesterday, while I was wallowing in self-pity, I called a few friends. I knew I couldn't be shoving cereal into my mouth if I was talking on the phone. I dialed the number of a friend who has struggled with weight in recent years. It's been a real roller coaster ride for her, and I knew she would get what I was going through. She understood when I told her how obsessed I am with food, exercise, and weight loss. She told me I'm in for a life-long battle and recommended I see a therapist. Awesome. Anyway, she recently moved into a new house and told me I should come see it. When I was trying to figure out my exercise for today, I decided to walk over to her new house and see if she was home. Sadly, she wasn't, so I walked to my parents' house. I hung out there for a while, then I walked home, for a grand total of 9.18 miles traveled.

I know all that walking doesn't undo my slip-up, but it got my mind out of "I'm-a-failure-mode" and into "I-can-do-it" mode.

Side note- the girl who played Anne, Megan Follows, turned 40 a few days ago. That, combined with my impending 30th birthday, is giving me that not-so-fresh feeling.

2 comments:

Shena said...

I want to restart walking club - I had it with tattooed Laurenn (you remember tattooed Laurenn from work) but she moved to Las Vegas. You walk a lot. I won't remember to ask you about this. Consider it!!

(yes, I'm on a posting roll.)

Anonymous said...

Great article. I will post it on my website with your link. Thanks!

Jason Wells,
www.islandspiritpei.com